


We Did It

by i-wanna-be-your-last (hmweasley)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 19:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3989371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hmweasley/pseuds/i-wanna-be-your-last
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Many times over the years, it had felt like this day would never come, but come it had. By the end of the day, the world would know the truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Did It

Louis couldn’t help but repeatedly glance in the mirror as he went about his usual morning routine. These motions may have been familiar, but that would change soon enough.

He’d grown apathetic to having his picture taken over the years. The flashes and clicks rarely made him lift an eyebrow, let alone put extra work into his appearance. But today was different. The pictures that got taken of him today had the potential to be plastered in more places than usual, and that was saying something.

Louis spit out the last of his toothpaste and did a quick check to make sure none of it had wound up on his shirt. That would be embarrassing, even though Louis could imagine it being identified as something very different from toothpaste by some fans.

Harry appeared in the open doorway. They hadn’t bothered to close the bathroom door for years unless they had company over. It was unnecessary.

“You okay?” Harry asked, concern bleeding through his voice.

It was the fourth time he had asked that this morning, and they’d only been awake for an hour tops.

Louis smiled. It was hesitant but also truthful. “I’m fine. Nervous, but in the best way you can be.”

A huge grin shone on Harry’s face.

“I know what you mean. Now, come eat your breakfast before we leave. It’s getting cold.”

Louis doubted that since Harry had almost certainly come to get him the second he finished cooking. He was just trying to get Louis out of the bathroom so he could work at distracting him before they left.

Their food was already set out on two plates, with the extra food set out in the middle of the table for seconds, when Louis got to the kitchen. Harry sat down a cup of tea in front of Louis and then slid into his own spot across the table.

Harry had fixed both of their favorites, and Louis wished he could enjoy it despite the sloshing in his stomach. Just brushing his teeth had about set off his gag reflex this morning, which wasn’t usual for him.

“Eat up. You’ll need your energy,” Harry encouraged.

Louis smiled fondly as Harry scooped up a forkful of eggs. He was nervous too. Louis could tell by the slight shake of his hand, but Harry would eat his entire plate anyway to try and appear like he was fine. And also to back up the words that he said daily.

“I don’t think getting papped will exert me that much, Haz.”

“No, but the mental exhaustion of what will come after might.”

It was the closest either of them had come to acknowledging out loud what was happening today, although it had been at the forefront of both of their minds.

“Maybe,” Louis granted. “But by then I’ll feel so relieved that not having an appetite won’t be a problem.”

“Let’s hope.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before going back to their food.

They went quiet as they finished up their meals. Louis managed to scarf down almost his entire plate, and Harry smiled approvingly as Louis stood up to put it in the sink. They’d wash it all later. There were more important things to tend to at the moment.

Harry, out of character, agreed and dumped his plate and fork into the sink without even rinsing them. He put lids over the uneaten food, but other than that, their breakfast mess would still be waiting for them when they got home later that day.

Louis’ stomach fluttered as they went through the finishing touches of preparing to leave the house. It was normal and yet not normal at the same time. Louis was doing the same thing as always. Harry was doing the same thing as always. But the rare times they were allowed to leave the house together, they weren’t preparing to be seen like they were now.

There were no paps outside their door. It wasn’t surprising. They only showed up here if called, and they’d been paid pretty well in the past to avoid this particular house. That deal was off, but Louis was hoping they’d avoid the house anyway once Louis’ and Harry’s living arrangements were no longer a large story.

Harry drove, and Louis tapped his fingers against the armrest as London rolled by. It was such an average day, with everyone going about their average business. The feeling was only exacerbated by the fact that no one knew two world famous pop stars were driving past them.

Even as they parked the car and got out together, no one milling around noticed. Most days, this would be welcome, but they had to be spotted by someone today or it would be for nothing. If it turned out they could have been going on outings together previously with no thought about concealment, then Louis would be a bit peeved.

It didn’t help that they had chosen to do this when they were unlikely to come across huge groups of teenage fans. Management hadn’t wanted today to become too messy. Just effective enough for them to no longer be hiding. If it worked out perfectly, they would be spotted, asked for pictures, possibly paped, but they would be home without any mobs.

Management had wanted a bodyguard with them too, but Louis and Harry had argued against it. It felt better to do this with just the two of them. Despite the public nature, this was too personal to have a bodyguard along, even one of those they had come to think of as a friend.

Harry chose to take them to a second-hand store. It was the exact type of place management had wanted. They could still be recognized, but it wasn’t overpopulated with young girls. It was also the exact type of store Harry would go to on any other shopping trip, making this outing seem as natural as they could make it.

And it felt natural was the thing. Louis’ nervousness faded away as Harry shifted through clothes (nothing there held Louis' interest). Louis giggled as Harry pulled out ridiculous items and feigned interest in them for his amusement.

Eventually, Louis started to get a slight sense of agitation. Various shoppers had passed them. Louis swore two of them had recognition in their eyes, yet no one had so much as snuck a picture yet. (Louis always knew when they did by now) Any other day, this would be welcome, but of course this would happen the first time they were hoping to be caught.

“Maybe we should go somewhere else,” Louis suggested once Harry had searched through the entire men’s section of the store.

Harry glanced around the store and nodded in agreement. So, they let the cashier ring up Harry’s purchases and stepped back out onto the street. Louis’ heartbeat sped up as Harry took a hold of his hand. He had to remind himself that they were allowed to do that now. In fact, they wanted to do that today.

They were walking down the street discussing places they could go when it finally happened. Louis heard the squeal that was always indicative of a fan. He and Harry turned around in unison to find a young redheaded girl who looked about eighteen or nineteen behind them. She hadn’t meant to catch their attention that way based on how her hand flew up to cover her mouth and stifle any remaining squealing.

She stood frozen for a few seconds as Louis and Harry watched her with cautious smiles. Her eyes traveled downward until they locked on their entwined hands and began widening comically. Louis had to stifle his laughter. It wouldn’t have been at her. It was elation that they had finally been found out.

The girl lowered the shaking hand from her mouth and took a deep breath.

“Um, hi,” she said, smiling nervously.

Louis and Harry echoed her hello, not bothering to push back their slight laughs at the way she gasped upon hearing their voices.

She looked down at their hands again as she mentally gauged the situation. After a few long moments, she looked back up at them with hope in her eyes.

“I-uh… Can I have a picture? Please?” She held up her phone but continued on a split second later. “I completely understand if you don’t want to. I know you’re busy, and um… I assume you don’t want your location public.”

Louis wished she knew how helpful she was being at the moment, although he also appreciated her willingness to ask them all of this. Most fans wouldn’t have.

“Sure, love,” Harry answered for the both of them. “And you can spread our location all you want actually.”

Her eyes widened even larger than before, making her look like a manga character.

“Really?” she asked, voice trembling.

Louis just knew from the way she said it that she was one of the fans who knew. She wasn’t surprised they were holding hands; she was surprised they were doing it in public and allowing her to tell. He was glad that she was the one who found them. Any fan would have served their purpose, but it made it sweeter to share this with someone who had been waiting for it too.

“Really,” Louis confirmed. His smile was so big that he thought his face might split in half. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy about meeting a fan. At least part of it stems from knowing he was sharing something special with her. They sort of communicated with each other without speaking out loud. It was nice, and not something Louis got with the majority of fans nowadays.

The girl got her pictures. One with each of them and then one with the three of them together. There would be no doubting she met Louis and Harry together, although Louis could imagine angry shouts about photoshop before it was accepted. It was amazing how hard it was for reality to compete with an already created fiction. The human mind is an interesting thing and also quite illogical at times. Louis thought his life had proved that much to him.

They were both a little brighter as they moved onto the next store. They were blowing up on Twitter and Tumblr now. They knew it. But neither one of them pulled out their phones. They could look back on the various reactions later. It was more satisfying to take it all in for themselves right now.

Louis found himself giggling for no reason other than his imaginings of the fans’ reactions. He tried to stifle it as he sorted through some clothes, Harry doing the same at his side.

He knew when the paps arrived outside as if it was a sixth sense he’d managed to develop. He knew Harry sensed it too. It was like the energy around them shifted. Nothing had changed inside the store, but they both grew serious knowing that this was it. This was the last time the world wouldn’t have clear public proof that they were together. The girl hadn’t gotten clear photos of them holding hands, but now the paps would get just that. Only the most oblivious of people would deny it after this, and not even that would last long.

“You ready?” Harry asked about five minutes after the shift.

Louis nodded even though neither of them had picked out anything from the store. That wasn’t why they were there in the first place. Harry still had his bags from the last store, so it at least looked like they were on a natural outing and not a staged one, although they were. Every bit of their public personas were staged. Even when they were being themselves, it was building up the conceived notions their fans had of them. Louis had accepted that a long time ago. It helped once he realized that everyone has one, especially their fans who developed extensive ones online. It was just a certain side of them, a bit less multifaceted than their true selves, but it was the same in real life for most people. No one showed all of their colors to anyone except those closest to them.

Louis could sense the shop assistant watching them as they walk out the door. No doubt she had noticed the paps’ presence too and figured out a bit of what was going on. Maybe she had seen the state of Twitter. Louis bet there was at least one trending topic by now, if not ten. He wondered if the fans had managed to break the site yet. That would be pretty cool, although a hindrance when the pap pictures came out.

His hand was in Harry’s again, and for all of Harry’s outwardly calm demeanor, Louis could feel the slight sweat slicking up his palm. He hoped he appeared as calm as Harry did though because his heart was beating like crazy. It reminded him of times when they first blew up and started to get mobbed. This was tame in comparison. Somehow, the paps were there but no fans. Bright flashes kept going off, but Louis adjusted to those a long time ago. No one was pressing up against them, just standing back and clicking their cameras.

Louis and Harry walked along like the cameras were not even there. Louis glanced up at Harry’s face and saw the smile there. He squeezed Harry’s hand and smiled up at him once he had his attention.

The paps were shouting things, but Louis couldn’t hear any of it. Or was choosing to ignore it maybe. He didn’t know if it was positive encouragement, homophobic remarks, or cheers about the money they would make when they sold the pictures. It didn’t matter to Louis. They could say whatever they wanted since Louis and Harry were using them like tools at the moment. They were both benefiting. They had done so in the past, but Louis had never actually felt like he was benefiting until now.

The paps followed them all the way to their car. They had to have gotten more than a million pictures of the two of them holding hands, and there was no telling how many would wind up online. The thought makes Louis feel calm, which is a nice change from the anxiety he used to feel when thinking about being caught

The paps let them go easily once they got in their car. Any pictures of them through the tinted windows wouldn’t compare to what they had already gotten. Maybe they would leave them alone for a while now that they had made a killing off of them. Louis could dream.

Louis was bubbling with excitement the entire ride back to their house. In theory, he could pull out his phone and start scrolling through Twitter, but it felt like something he needed to wait to get home for. Harry was too busy driving to focus on it, and it was something they should experience together.

They all but rushed into the house like two five-year-olds rushing to the tree on Christmas morning. Harry’s laptop was already on, and they cuddled up close on the couch as Harry opened it up and typed in his password.

Twitter was open in Chrome, and Harry’s notifications tab had the same little circled numbers as always. Harry giggled a bit as he clicked on it and an absurdly high number of new tweets already sits at the top. Louis’ heart skipped a little, both from the giggle and the tweets. Pictures of them were everywhere. The paps and news outlets didn’t waste anytime giving the fans what they wanted. Of course they wouldn’t with something like this.

Between the pictures and all caps comments are article headlines that fans were also tweeting. Harry doesn’t click on any of the links as they were more concerned with the fans’ reactions, but they see all the major gossip sites.

It was a bit surprising to Louis. He had expected it to be a big deal, but it was different to see it play out and see people who weren’t even fans react to it.

He pulled out his phone, although he knew his notifications would be remarkably like Harry’s. Most of the tweets had him tagged right alongside his boyfriend. Still, it felt more personal (as strange as that was) to see it played out on his own feed instead of Harry’s.

It was nice knowing he could tweet about everything now and face no backlash from management. There would be no repeat of the bullshit tweet. He could be truthful. It felt like such a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Louis smiled as a text notification popped up at the top of the screen. He went to his messages and saw that he’d received a number of them without realizing.

“Check your phone,” he told Harry, knowing his would be in a similar state.

Harry nodded, pulling his phone out and scrolling through it like Louis. Everyone they cared about had already messaged them. Of course, almost all of them had known to expect this today, so they were probably waiting around for it to happen. Louis made sure to check his mother’s first. Responding to her was top priority. He replied to a few others after that. He wanted to respond to everyone who had been supportive, which was quite a few now that he looked back on it. But he also wanted to savor the moment without worrying about who he had and hadn’t replied to yet. They would understand. There was plenty of time to talk to them later.

With that thought, Louis set his phone down and leaned back into the sofa. He watched as Harry finished typing something with a smile on his face. Louis glanced down to see Gemma’s name at the top of the messages. It looked like she’d sent Harry an essay.

Harry finished responding and sat his phone down on the armrest of the couch. He leaned back, mirroring Louis’ position, laptop precariously close to sliding off his lap. Louis reached out to push the monitor down. They didn’t need it anymore.

His actions alerted Harry to the laptop’s position, and he leaned over to place it on the table before leaning back again. Louis smiled and reached out to touch him. Just being able to feel Harry next to him gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It was kind of disgusting.

“We did it,” Louis said. Harry’s smile widened, which shouldn’t have been possible.

“We did it,” Harry echoed.

And that was all there was to say. They both knew exactly what was going through the other’s head at the moment, and that was enough. Louis felt more satisfied with life than he had in years, and despite the hard times, he had always felt satisfied knowing he had Harry. Now he got to share a bit more of that satisfaction with the world. It would be just a bit. He still wanted privacy, of course, but he wasn’t ruling out a few disgustingly cheesy public moments here and there.

Louis laughed a little to himself as he pulled Harry’s face to his own for a kiss.


End file.
